Photo Flashback! Magic Kingdom at Night

I love the Magic Kingdom at Night.  As wonderful as it is during the daytime, it is extra special at night.  In February 2016 we were at the Magic Kingdom for the 25th Anniversary party for Disney Vacation Club members where the Magic Kingdom was open from 9 to midnight just for DVC Members.

The Hall of Presidents

The River Boat at night

During the 25th Anniversary Party there were only about 10000 DVC Members allowed in.

I love Cinderella Castle at night

DisneyMom

Disney Vacation Club 25 and Beyond

Let us know if you love the Magic Kingdom at night.

The Disney Vacation Club celebrated 25 years in 2016.  We have been members since 1993.  February 2016 was the first party for DVC Members to celebrate the 25th Anniversary. Free tickets were given to 10000 DVC Members for an after hours party in the Magic Kingdom.

--DisneyDad

Photo Flashback: Love This!

My husband, Andy, and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary at Aulani last year.  It was an wonderful trip.  This week's blog hop theme at Focused on the Magic is "Love this!"and I knew I needed to share some photos from Aulani.

This was from our lunch at 'AMA'AMA on our first full day on the island.  I'll share the rest of the meal later but today I wanted to show you the amazing view from our table, my honey, and one of the best desserts I have ever had.

The lagoon over my cup of fruit-infused water.  We were in no hurry to give up this view.  And as best we could tell, they weren't in a hurry for us to leave.  

So happy I married this guy!

We ordered Mocha Chantilly Cake.  And you should too.

The Happy Anniversary mousse was a lovely and very delicious surprise.  

This, my dears, was a dessert that still makes my mouth water 10 months later.  The menu says "Coffee Kanten, Coffee Anglaise, Macadamia Nut Nougatine and Chocolate Gelato." None of those words really describes just how incredible this tastes.

Check out the other "Love this!" posts through Deb's hop at Focused on the Magic.  We are so happy to welcome her back to Disney blogging!

Photo Flashback! My Calendar Shot

Mom and DisneyDad

If I am putting together a calendar, it must include a shot of Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom at night showing Cinderella Castle.  This one just happens to have been taken of Mom and me last week at the 25 and Beyond Bash to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Disney Vacation Club.

--DisneyDad

Trip Planning for 25 and Beyond Bash

Trip Planning for Vacation Club Members

It's been a while since I've had to plan a trip to Walt Disney World.  Mom and I have been going since we first were married.  We have done a lot of family trips over the years.  When we do a family trip Amy does the planning for the group.

Mom & DisneyDad December 1973

Amy will check the crowd calendars and plan which park we are to go.  She will make FastPass+ reservations for us.  She will make dining reservations.  All which are based around what my granddaughters, Tink and Minnie would like to do, see, and eat.  The rest of us are happy for her to do this for us and watching the girls have fun at Walt Disney World is the best payoff for the trip.  And if one of the FastPass+ just happens to take us to see Mickey, I don't mind getting my picture taken with him either.

Tink, Minnie and DisneyDad with Mickey

Well, in February, Mom and I are going to Walt Disney World for the first event for the 25th Anniversary celebration for The Disney Vacation Club, the 25 and Beyond Bash.  The first resort in the Disney Vacation Club family was The Disney Vacation Club Resort, now called Disney's Old Key West Resort, opening in October, 1991.  We became DVC Members in April 1993 after first visiting and touring OKW in 1992.

Disney's Old Key West Resort

We've lost count of how many trips we have made to Walt Disney World over the years.  Mom and I have been a lot of time by ourselves.  Gone are the days where you can just walk into the parks and experience all the attractions you have on your list to see.  We would get up with only a vague plan of what we were going to do based on where we wanted to eat that day.  Now, if you don't have a FastPass+ for an attraction you can stand in line for a long time just to see one ride.  And if you  don't have a dining reservation you may not be able to eat where you want.

As a Vacation Club member I use to call Member Services for all reservations but for this trip I have been on line to make our reservations on the member pages on www.disneyvacationclub.com.  I booked our room on the DVC Member site, our FastPass+ were all booked using My Disney Experience both on my iPhone and computer and dining reservations were made on line at www.disneyworld.com.  I did have to call DVC Member Services to book our reservation for the 25 and Beyond Bash at the Magic Kingdom.

After making reservations for our stay at OKW, I started by checking crowd calendars just as Amy has done for us in the past.  I followed her lead and started a spreadsheet to map out our trip by first mapping out crowd levels for each day for each park.  Thursday, February 25th. is the 25 and Beyond Bash so we are planning to be at the Magic Kingdom Thursday.  So, planning around Thursday I picked what days to visit the Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot.  Our first day at WDW we will forgo a park and go check out all the changes to Disney Springs.  So after planning out a Park for each day, I could book FastPass+ and dining reservations.  Most days we booked lunch, but on Epcot day, we have dinner reservations at Le Cellier Steakhouse.

Once Parks were selected for each day I used My Disney Experience app on my iPhone to pick FastPass+ reservations for each day.  Then once Mom and I decided we wanted to do a table service lunch each day, it was back to the computer and onto www.disneyworld.com to check restaurant availability and book dining reservations.  Then it was back to My Disney Experience and adjust the FastPass+ times to work around the dining reservations.

When all plans were made it was back to the computer to create another spreadsheet for Mom to use.  My Disney Experience has all my plans, including what park, FastPass+ and dining reservations for each day on my iPhone.  Mom believes pencil and paper are the best thing ever so I make a printed schedule for her.

So now we just wait until it is time to travel to Old Key West.  Check-in has already been done on line for the resort.   DisneyFloral has my order for Valentine's Day flowers to be delivered to our room.  Now for the hard part, we just wait until it's time to go.

--DisneyDad
Thanks for stopping by Growing Up Disney.

How do you plan for your trips to WDW?  Have you ever put together a spreadsheet to keep everything organized?  Do you do your own planning or do you use the service of an authorized Disney Travel planner?  Do you make dining reservations or do you try to find some place to eat where ever you are in the park when you get hungry?  Do you make FastPass+ reservations in advance of  your trip?

Mom & DisneyDad October 2015

Problem Solved - A New Year and an Old Problem

Not long ago I wrote about the same old problem. (Click here to read that post.) It is now 2015.  We had wonderful vacations with the Disney Vacation Club in 2014.  But those vacations are now in the past and we have nothing booked for this year.  Well, we now have reservations booked!!

In October, 2015,  we will be staying at a Disney Vacation Club resort for the first time.  We have reservations booked for Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village.

Disney Vacation Club Villas at the Animal Kingdom Lodge opened first as a re-purposed area in the original resort, now called Jambo House.  Two years later the first phase of Kidani Village opened May 1, 2009 with Deluxe Studios and one, two and three bedroom villas.  While we have visited both Jambo House and Kidani Village to dine in their restaurants, only Ridge has actually stayed at the resort.

For our October trip we have booked a Savanna view 2 bedroom villa as well as a standard view deluxe studio.  While the 2 bedroom villa will sleep 9, we booked the extra studio so no one has to sleep on the sofa.  And if we decide to bring an extra friend along there will be plenty of room.

The 2 bedroom villa at Kidani Village sleeps 9 with a king bed in the master bedroom and either 2 queens or a queen bed and sleeper sofa in the second bedroom depending on if you stay in a dedicated 2 bedroom or a 2 bedroom lock-off (a one bedroom villa connected to a deluxe studio).  The living room has a sleeper sofa and a chair that makes into a bed.  Both 1173 square foot 2 bedroom villas have 3 bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen.

I have been researching dining choices at Animal Kingdom Villas and Animal Kingdom Lodge. There are several restaurant choices for lunch and dinner.  We have eaten at both Sanaa and Boma. Both are worth repeat visits.  Amy and Andy have been to Jiko and enjoyed dinner there.  There are also pool bars at both Kidani Village and Jambo House that start serving at 11:00 am and go through dinner.  Breakfast is counter service at the Mara or buffet at Boma, both in Jambo House.  So if you want to eat breakfast without venturing out from Kidani Village, you cook in your room or there is always room service.

I hope the weather is nice in October as the pool at Kidani Village sounds wonderful.  Samiwati Springs pool features a 128 foot long slide as well as a zero entry pool. The pool area include Uwanja Camp which is a water playground for kids 4 and up.  At Jambo House is the Uzima Pool, a 11,000 sq foot pool facing the Uzima Savanna.  There are bars and refreshments nearby both pools.

Travel to the parks from Kidani Village is by bus.  It's only about a 10 minute bus ride to the Animal Kingdom Park, but the other parks are about a 30 minute or more bus ride.  I'll probably load Mom's mobility scooter up in the car to go anywhere other than the Animal Kingdom Park.

The big attraction regardless if you are staying in Jambo House or, like us, at Kidani Village is the Savanna view from your room.  Ridge said he took hundreds of photos from his balcony when he stayed here.  Tink and Minnie will be 6 and 4 for this trip and will love watching the animals from the room.  And of course I'll love watching them watch the animals.

It doesn't get much better than being with family at Walt Disney World.

--DisneyDad

Have you stayed at Kidani Village?  Do you have any advice for someone staying there for the first time?

What makes it all worth it for me

Cinderella Castle

It really didn't surprise me when Amy started this blog almost FIVE years ago.  She has always had a love for Disney, I guess, thanks in part to me.  When she started researching taking her first child, Tink, to Walt Disney World she couldn't find what she wanted to know in one place.  So out of her research began Growing Up Disney and out of Tink's first trip on her first birthday came the Growing Up Disney Logo.

Soon, her brother, known as Ridge here on Growing Up Disney, started posting and I would occasionally add a few articles (Check out Ridge's articles here).  Amy now has 2 beautiful girls.  And as a mom finds less and less time to write.  She has moved half way across the US, not once, but TWICE.

Ridge still goes on trips with us to WDW, but since changing jobs, has not been able to find much time to write.  So for a while most of our posts became sharing lots and lots of photos.  The first photos I have posted of WDW begin in 1971.

Over the years we have help from lots of friends from California to England and points in between who have contributed posts.  Disney has their Mickey Mom's but Growing Up Disney has had our Minnie Mom's (click to see their posts).  We have met lots of new friends through GUD.

Last year we lost the www.growingupdisney.com web site.  We missed renewing the site and someone jumped in and bought the domain out from under us.  For several weeks it no longer was our family photos.  It had some random "junk" on it.  It cost me way to much money to get it back.

Sometimes I wonder if it was worth the cost.  But then you get an email...

We recently received a email from someone who had just found our "home-away-from-home" here on the web.  They told us how much they enjoyed the old pictures and the family posts.  That is what makes it all worth it to me.  The late nights trying to get a last minute post done, searching through old albums to scan a photo, or trying to come up with a subject to post are all tiring and time consuming.  You wonder if you are really sharing with anyone, or just typing words into the computer.  Then someone will post a comment or send you an email.

I hope you enjoy our family posts on GrowingUpDisney.  Last week Amy posted several pictures of a trip and one of Mickey and me (click to see it).  One of these days I'll have to tell you all about the Old Man and the Mouse.

Everybody neat and pretty?  Then on with the show!   -- Mickey Mouse Club 1955

--DisneyDad

A New Year and a New Vacation Club

You've probably seen the construction at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort.  Disney Vacation Club is growing again!

Bora Bora Bungalows

Going on general sale on February 9th (sales to DVC members began January 12th) and scheduled to open on April 1, 2015, Disney's Polynesian Village and Bungalows are the newest member of the Disney Vacation Club.

Phase one will include 20 over-the-water 2 bedroom bungalows that sleep 8 and 360 Deluxe Studio Villas that will sleep 5.

Disney's Polynesian Village and Bungalows have several FIRSTS for DVC and Disney Resorts.  These are the first over-the-water accommodations, the first accommodations to have a plunge pool for each bungalow, and the first connecting Deluxe Studios.

Information on Disney's Polynesian Village and Bungalows is available now for DVC members on the member website at www.dvcmember.com.  General information should be available after sales begin on the public website at www.disneyvacationclub.com


Note:  We are Disney Vacation Club Members and are not employees of or otherwise associated with Disney or DVC sales.  If you do have questions about Disney Vacation Club please leave a comment and we will be glad to share our experience as DVC Members.

--DisneyDad

Did you know that the name of Disney's Polynesian Resort has changed to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort?

Growing Up Disney is back on line!

We are BACK!

Amy 1979 at Magic Kingdom

Due to some technical difficulties GrowingUpDisney
was replaced by another site in mid July.  

We are BACK!  

I hope you will join with us each week
as we share our experiences Growing Up Disney.

--DisneyDad

Disney Vacation Club on eBay

Disney Vacation Club on eBay - or going Crazy!



DisneyDad November 2012

I love going to Walt Disney World and have ever since I first visited the Preview Center in 1970 before the Magic Kingdom ever opened.  I've been so much I don't purchase a lot of souvenirs any more unless Tink and Minnie are there for me to buy them gifts.  I heard Disney was doing a Vacation Ownership program long before I ever saw the Disney Vacation Club Resort - aka Disney's Old Key West Resort.  We toured DVC in late 1992, just over a year after it opened, and became members soon afterwards.

The original logo for the Disney Vacation Club resort was an oval with 3 snow-capped mountains, ocean waves and palm trees with a Mickey Icon sun rising behind the mountains.  Once Disney's Vero Beach Resort became a DVC resort, the Disney Vacation Club Resort was renamed Disney's Old Key West Resort and the logo dropped one mountain. (Never did know where that mountain went!) The two mountain logo remained until Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Ko Olina, Hawai`i  joined the DVC family of resorts and the logo became a world globe with Mouse Ears.




DVC 3-Mountain Cloisonne Pin

Recently, while wandering onto eBay, I ran across an early Cloisonne pin (this was before "trading pins" were everywhere).  It has some interesting colors with red mountains, and a purple sky but most importantly it has the 3 mountains of the original logo.  Well I had to bid on it!  Raise your bid... and win!  So I am the proud owner of a like-new DVC pin still on the original card.  The price tag is still on the back - $4.00.  And I only paid $10.49 plus $3.95 shipping.  What a bargain!  Seriously I bought a beautiful pin of the original DVC logo.

Of course it didn't stop there.

I also found a 3" white oval button similar to all the give-away buttons you see in the parks.  This one has the original 3-mountain logo also.  Got to have it.... Bid..... Bid.... Bid.  And for only $11.02 plus $2.50 shipping I own a button - that DVC gave away for free.  Of course they don't give this one away any more.  I put this one on the wall of my cubical at work.  It's next to my Growing Up Disney button (Talk to Amy if you want one of those.  Don't know if she still has any.)  and my "Audrey" button with the pink stork (We were given these to tell us Tink's name was when she was born. Amy would not tell us ahead of time.)




Original DVC Logo Button

Of course it didn't stop there...

If you stay on eBay long enough you will find something you really want.  Bid...Bid... higher... Higher... HIGHER.... BID!!!  and you win the prize.  This time I found a Disney Vacation Club sign - the 2 mountain sign.  It was a prototype of the signs used at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort.  It's a large, heavy, solid wooden sign just over 2 feet across.  Of course I paid WAY too much.  I won't say how much (Mom might read this) but it cost $18.00 just to ship it to me.  Cost was not important.  I have THE sign.




Disney Vacation Club Display Sign

OK.  None of these probably mean anything to others.  To me they are priceless treasures.  I am a long time Disney Vacation Club Member.  A Member since 1993 when the 3-mountain logo was still there.  The Cloisonne pin will go on a hat - I don't buy pins to trade.  The Button is on the wall in my office.  The Sign???  Where do you hang a 2 foot DVC Sign?  Mom suggested over the large print of the Old Key West lighthouse in the living room that Amy gave me several years ago. 

Where would you hang a sign?  I'm not sure where it will end up, but I like it a lot.  Just got to stay off of eBay.  Of course I bought some other Disney items and still bidding on some.  But those are for another post.

--DisneyDad

Packing for your next WDW trip?

Time to Pack

Partners

When do you pack for your next trip to Walt Disney World?  Amy starts gathering things up almost a month a head and putting them aside – after all she is my organized child.  Ridge said he starts packing 4 or 5 days before a trip – plenty of time to make sure you have everything.  Mom starts gathering thing up 2-3 weeks as she always wants to make sure there are plenty of food/snacks for the trip, clothes are washed and the dog has a reservation at the kennel.  I checked and cleaned up the car last weekend.  But packing…. That’s different!

Mom and I pull the suitcases out and start packing, not months, weeks, or days ahead, but hours ahead.  We usually pack the suitcases the evening before our trip.  The car gets packed just before we leave.  Mom makes a few lists, and most of the time we remember everything.  Sometimes we forget a few things, but since we drive down, it’s not too much trouble to pick up anything forgotten. 

Main Street Philharmonic

There are a few more things I pack now than I use to.  First, as I write this on Monday before our trip, I still have to put the car seat in.  It may not get used, but Tink likes riding in Granddaddy’s car when she gets the chance, so in it goes.  Next, I have to make sure Mom’s mobility scooter’s battery is charged (as well as my camera batteries).  The first thing to go in the car trunk – the scooter. 

Cinderella Castle

A new item to our family trips is the Keurig.  Guess we are spoiled to the single cup coffee maker.  So in goes the Keurig and boxes of K-Cups.  Also anytime we are seeing Tink and Minnie there is also the gifts for the Granddaughters.  So there are gifts, new story books, and things from the Disney Store that must be packed. 

Where do you find me?

And finally, the clothes go into the car.  The more I think about it, I may need a bigger car.

--DisneyDad

By the way, the pictures have nothing to do with packing, I just like the photos.  - DisneyDad

Five Photos: Disney's Old Key West Resort

Views from around Disney's Old Key West Resort.

--DisneyDad

Guest Post: My less-than-24-hour adults-only stay at WDW

We checked in around 6:00 pm on Monday night, and the Magical Express (ME) picked us up at 4:05pm on Tuesday. It would seem like it was a very short stay, and it technically was, but we got so much done in those few precious hours! It was our first time at the World with no kids, and we were going to take advantage of it!

The WDW stay came at the tail-end of an adults only weekend in New Smyrna Beach (NSB), Florida. When my sister told me that she and my brother-in-law were going to have to leave a day earlier than us, it was a no brainer to us to ditch NSB and spend the extra night in WDW!

We were originally booked at Boardwalk Villas (we are DVC members), but went on the wait-list for Beach Club (BC). We had never stayed at BC, so what better time to try it than on a one-night trip. If we didn't like it, or were too home-sick for our beloved Animal Kingdom Villas, we could deal with it for one short night. We also knew we wanted to do the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, so BC provided the perfect location! A few days out from our trip, our wait-list came true. Everything was falling into place.

Once we dropped my sister and brother -in-law off at the airport, we headed to the World. We checked in, dropped our bags off in the room, and walked into Epcot (yes, I said walked - we LOVED the proximity of BC to Epcot). We immediately hit the food and wine marketplaces. I am not a huge foodie or wino, but I did enjoy the novelty of experiencing one of WDW's special events, especially since this is one that we couldn't experience with our kids at their ages. Their patience level is usually at 0, and I'm sure they would not enjoy stopping every few minutes for mommy and daddy to have a bite to eat. I really enjoyed the leisurely pace of the festival. Being a Monday night, there were no lines and we could just eat and sit as we pleased. My favourites were the margarita in Mexico, and the Greek salad in Greece (I know, I'm boring!). 

Hubby, on the other hand, LOVED all the food samplings! He loves experiencing different foods from all over, so this was right up his alley. His favourites were: Taco de Filete in Mexico, Mongolian Beef in China, and the Rendang in Singapore.

The highlight of my night, though, was seeing one of my favourite music groups from high school: Boyz II Men, in the Eat To The Beat Concert Series. Boy, did that take me back to my youth!  The best part was that it was completely unexpected! I had no idea they would be performing. I loved singing along to all their hit songs. I couldn't believe I still remembered all the words to "On Bended Knee". They put on a great show.

Once we hit all the marketplaces, we had to hit Mouse Gear before it closed! Then it was off to bed for us, as we were determined to make rope drop at Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS) the following morning. And... We did. DHS has the most adult-friendly rides, in our opinion, so we were going to make sure we took advantage of this park while we were kid-less.

The important reason to make rope drop at DHS is to ensure a stand-by ride on Toy Story Mania (TSM), plus get an early FASTPASS return time. We did just that. Once we rode TSM, we went over to my all-time favourite attraction, The Tower of Terror (ToT). Unfortunately, Rock 'N Rollercoaster was down, but we did get in another ride on TSM and ToT, plus a ride on Star Tours and The Great Movie Ride. This was all accomplished by 11:30am, and then we decided to head back to BC to enjoy the wonderful Stormalong Bay.

Before pool time, though, we walked over to Epcot to get our beloved fish and chips from Yorkshire Fish & Chips in the England Pavilion. Ok, truth be told, hubby likes the fish, and I like the 'chips'!

With lunch over, we secured our pool chairs with a wonderful view of the Boardwalk, the lighthouse, and the water. Stormalong Bay was huge and was a lot of fun to swim in! Hubby went down the slide, while I enjoyed the whirlpool. If I had to find something to complain about, I guess it would be that a lot of the pool area is very deep. However, they have a great sand-bottom shallow area for young children, complete with sand banks and sand toys. It made us really excited to take our young kids there when we stay at the Yacht Club in May. They will love it!

After a few hours, lounging, it was time to head to the ME pick-up spot. While we were sad to go, as we always are, we were happy with all that we had accomplished on our adults-only stay at WDW. Until we meet again, Mickey!

Contributed by Danielle from Ontario, Canada.  She and her husband are Disney Vacation Club Members and visit Walt Disney World several times a year with their two children.  She writes The Fairytale Family and has her own blog, Life As A Disney Mommy.  She is a Minnie Mom here at Growing Up Disney.

Five Photos: Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, Coligny Beach

A visit to Coligny Beach Park is one of the fun things you can do while staying at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort.  And it's a special treat to play on the beach in January.